Wembley voted top rock venue

The expansive home of stadium rock is a long way from the sticky floors and sweaty ceilings of the toilet gig circuit. But the newly rebuilt Wembley Stadium received an unlikely accolade last night when NME readers voted it best live venue ahead of the iconic likes of the London Astoria and Glasgow Barrowlands.

The stadium has played host to Muse, named best live act at last night's awards, as well as the less-NME friendly George Michael and the Concert for Diana. Despite the spiralling costs that resulted in becoming the most expensive stadium ever at £757m, it has been praised for its acoustics and sightlines.

A week after they triumphed at the more mainstream Brits, the Arctic Monkeys showed they also retained the support of their core fanbase by scooping a hat-trick of NME Awards. Along with comedians The Mighty Boosh, they were the big winners at the magazine's annual awards, which was hugely expanded and moved to the O2 as it attempted to challenge the Brits in the awards calendar.

Following a long season of gigs throughout the country, NME followed the televised awards bash with a gig for 17,000 fans at the arena in Greenwich.